Girl Don't Tell Me

Brian Wilson wrote the song in early 1965 while on a honeymoon with Marilyn. He recalled that "a whole song came to me. It was 'Girl Don't Tell Me.' I didn't have any way to get it down. But I just heard the whole thing up there, from start to finish, and I remembered it well enough to go later and write down the lyrics on a piece of paper."{{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=Brian|author-link1=Brian Wilson|last2=Greenman|first2=Ben|author-link2=Ben Greenman|title=I Am Brian Wilson: A Memoir|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9CmiBQAAQBAJ|year=2016|publisher=Da Capo Press|isbn=978-0-306-82307-7}}

The Beach Boys recorded "Girl Don't Tell Me" on April 30, 1965 at United Western Recorders.{{cite web|last=Doe|first=Andrew G.|title=GIGS65|url=http://bellagio10452.com/gigs65.html|website=bellagio10452.com|access-date=March 6, 2025}} Chuck Britz was the engineer. It was one of the first songs to feature Carl Wilson as lead vocalist and is one of the few Beach Boys tracks from the era to feature no backing vocals.

Beach Boys biographer David Leaf has likened "Girl Don't Tell Me" to the Beatles' 1965 single "Ticket to Ride," in terms of its guitar breaks, drum fills and vocal delivery.{{cite AV media notes| title=Today/Summer Days|others=The Beach Boys|year=1990|first=David|last=Leaf|author-link=David Leaf|publisher=Capitol Records|type=CD Liner|url=http://albumlinernotes.com/Today_Summer_Days.html}} Brian Wilson cited this as an example of how each new Beatles release over this period inspired him as a songwriter, and how, with "Girl Don't Tell Me," "I even tried writing a Beatles song."{{cite book |year=2002 |title=Mojo Special Limited Edition: 1000 Days That Shook the World (The Psychedelic Beatles – April 1, 1965 to December 26, 1967)|location=London |publisher=Emap|page=4}} He said that Carl's drawn-out phrasing over the words "you'll write" was taken from "Ticket to Ride". It has been claimed that Brian intended to submit "Girl Don't Tell Me" to the Beatles.{{cite book|last1=Wilson|first1=Brian|last2=Gold|first2=Todd|author-link1=Brian Wilson|title=Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story|url=https://archive.org/details/wouldntitbenicem00wils|url-access=registration|year=1991|publisher=HarperCollins|location=New York|isbn=978-0-06018-313-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/wouldntitbenicem00wils/page/121 121]}}

Cash Box described it as a "pretty, medium-paced tale of remorse."{{cite magazine |title=CashBox Record Reviews|date=December 18, 1965|page=10|access-date=2022-01-12|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1965/CB-1965-12-16.pdf|magazine=Cash Box}}

Sourced from Musician's Union AFM contract sheets and surviving session audio, documented by Craig Slowinski.{{cite web |url=http://www.tiptopwebsite.com/custommusic2/craigslowinskicom3.pdf|title= The Beach Boys - The Beach Boys Summer Days (And Summer Nights!!)|last= Slowinski|first= Craig|year=2009|access-date=October 27, 2012}}

;The Beach Boys

• Bruce Johnston – celesta
• Brian Wilson – bass guitar
• Carl Wilson – lead vocals, 12-string guitar, acoustic guitar
• Dennis Wilson – drums

;Additional musicians

• Ron Swallow – tambourine

{{See also|List of cover versions of Beach Boys songs}}

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|

• 1965 – Keith Green
• 1966 – Tony Rivers
• 1967 - The Collage (on Coliseum records)
• 1980 – The Smithereens, Girls About Town
• 1981 - Gyllene Tider, Swing & Sweet (EP) (as 'Ge mig inte det där')
• 1995 - Heartworms, Space Escapade
• 1996 – Fuzzy, Electric Juices
• 2000 – Truly, Twilight Curtains
• 2000 – Souvenir, Caroline Now!: The Songs of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys (as "Ne dis pas")
• 2001 – Al Jardine, Live in Las Vegas
• 2008 – Vivian Girls
• 2011 – My Cousin, The Emperor, Don't Steal the Covers!

}}

{{reflist}}

{{Summer Days}}

{{The Beach Boys singles}}

{{The Beach Boys}}

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Category:1965 songs

Category:The Beach Boys songs

Category:Songs written by Brian Wilson

Category:Song recordings produced by Brian Wilson